ISLAMABAD/PESHAWAR: Tension continued to mount in Pakistan on Sunday as the government vowed to prevent any disruption in Islamabad during a high-level visit by the Belarus president, as supporters of jailed former prime minister Imran Khan began marching to the capital to demand his release.
Khan’s Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI) party is spearheading a “long march” to the capital after more than a year of his incarceration on charges he claims are politically motivated. The party is also protesting alleged rigging in February’s general elections and raising concerns about judicial independence, which it says has been undermined by recent constitutional amendments, a claim the government denies.
Security in Islamabad has been tightened, with paramilitary forces deployed and major roads sealed with shipping containers. The interior ministry has suspended mobile data services in sensitive areas, and highways have been blocked to thwart the arrival of protesters.
Addressing the media in Islamabad, Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi criticizing PTI’s timing ahead of the three-day visit of Belarusian President Aleksandr Lukashenko to discuss for bilateral economic cooperation.
“Protecting the lives and property of citizens is a priority,” he said. “Disruption during the arrival of foreign guests will not be tolerated under any circumstances. Anyone spreading chaos will be arrested.”
Naqvi also urged Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, a close aide of ex-PM Khan, to prioritize stability in his own province instead of staging protests, calling such demonstrations harmful to national interests.
He also informed the authorities had detained “extremists” in Islamabad.
Pakistan’s Deputy Prime Minister Ishaq Dar also questioned PTI’s motives, describing its protest as “a deliberate conspiracy against the country’s honor and dignity.”
Earlier, Planning Minister Ahsan Iqbal accused Khan’s party of attempting to disrupt Pakistan’s economic recovery by launching a demonstration right ahead of the Belarusian president’s visit.
“I am hopeful this drama will end tonight, and normalcy will return,” he said at a press conference in Lahore.
Iqbal defended the government’s strict measures, highlighting its responsibility to ensure law and order.
Meanwhile, residents of Islamabad said they were already grappling with disruptions. Mohammad Hayat, a 32-year-old fruit vendor, lamented the impact of the ongoing political friction between the government and the opposition party on his livelihood.
“Since morning, I haven’t had a single customer. Roads are blocked, people can’t come out, and my fruit is perishing,” he said.
Another resident, Sayyed Sarmad from E-16 sector, criticized the road closures, claiming, “A girl died in an ambulance yesterday. The government should allow protests but manage them better.”
PTI leaders also remained resolute as caravans from KP headed toward Islamabad.
Asif Khan, a party lawmaker, declared “we will go to our destination at any cost,” highlighting transportation challenges as booked vehicles were allegedly blocked. “We arranged vehicles from other districts and captured videos to show our strength,” he added.
Iman Tahir, a women’s leader from Attock, underscored the movement’s peaceful nature.
“We have always been peaceful and will go peacefully this time again,” she said. “Today, all of Pakistan will rise, and Khan’s final call will be a successful one.”
Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Chief Minister Ali Amin Gandapur, leading the rally, reiterated his commitment while traveling in official protocol.
“We are going to D-Chowk at any cost, and we will not return before reaching D-Chowk,” he said at the Peshawar Motorway toll plaza, referring to an iconic spot in Islamabad that has witnessed political protests for decades.
Another PTI lawmaker, Arbab Sher Ali, echoed the party’s determination to reach the federal capital, saying, “We are instructed to reach Islamabad and are following Khan’s directives. If we can’t reach today, we will reach tomorrow or the day after.”
PTI leaders have hinted at an indefinite sit-in in Islamabad, saying the will not return until their demands are met by the government.
Pakistan vows order as Imran Khan’s party launches protest amid Belarusian delegation visit
https://arab.news/93h73
Pakistan vows order as Imran Khan’s party launches protest amid Belarusian delegation visit
- Deputy PM questions PTI motives, calling protest march ‘conspiracy’ against Pakistan’s honor
- Interior Minister Mohsin Naqvi asks Ali Amin Gandapur to prioritize stability in his own province
Pakistan’s flood-hit Sindh farmers’ group plans climate lawsuit against German firms
- Claim seeks $1.08 million in damages linked to devastating 2022 floods
- Case targets energy, cement companies cited as major historical emitters
ISLAMABAD: A group of 43 farmers from Pakistan’s flood-ravaged Sindh province has decided to file a climate justice lawsuit against two German companies, accusing them of contributing to the global greenhouse gas emissions they say worsened the catastrophic floods of 2022, a rights activist and a claimant said on Friday.
The planned legal action targets energy company RWE and cement manufacturer Heidelberg Materials, following a legal notice issued in late October that gave the firms until December to reach a settlement over an estimated $1.08 million in damages. Environmental campaigners describe both companies as major historical contributors to global emissions.
Heidelberg Materials confirmed last month that it had received the legal notice and was reviewing the claim. RWE has not responded.
The case follows the devastating monsoon floods of 2022, which killed more than 1,700 people, displaced around 33 million and caused economic losses exceeding $30 billion across Pakistan. Sindh was the hardest-hit province, with districts such as Dadu, Larkana and Jacobabad submerged for months.
The legal move comes as communities in climate-vulnerable countries increasingly seek accountability from multinational corporations for climate-related losses, amid growing scientific evidence linking extreme weather events to global warming driven largely by industrialized economies.
“The farmers in Sindh, affected by environmental devastation, have now decided to pursue legal action against two German companies for climate justice, which is a historic decision,” Nasir Mansoor, general secretary of Pakistan’s National Trade Union Federation (NTUF), told Arab News.
Mansoor said climate change should be treated as a labor and livelihoods issue, arguing that repeated environmental shocks were eroding rural employment, food security and social stability in one of Pakistan’s poorest regions.
Abdul Khaliq Leghari, a landowner from Khairpur Nathan Shah and one of the 43 claimants, said the floods permanently damaged his farmland. He lost 40 acres of rice and wheat crops, and his yields have since fallen by half.
“We not only suffered large-scale losses to crops and livestock during the floods, but we are still suffering these losses even now. This is not our fault; rather, it is the fault of companies like the German ones,” Leghari told Arab News.
“Clouds rain all over the world, but here the clouds burst. What is our fault in this? Those who have brought the climate to this point are becoming richer and richer, while we are becoming poorer and poorer,” he said, adding that the farmers were seeking not only compensation but action by major polluters to prevent further environmental damage.
At a press conference at the Karachi Press Club on Thursday, farmers and activists said Pakistan, which contributes less than 1 percent of global greenhouse gas emissions, was paying a disproportionate price for industrial pollution generated elsewhere.
Mansoor said environmental degradation within Pakistan was accelerating, citing the rapid melting of 14,000 glaciers across three major mountain ranges and the loss of around 90 percent of the historic Indus Delta.
“The industrial model of capitalist development had brought the planet to the brink of destruction,” Mansoor said, adding that current generations had a narrowing window to prevent irreversible damage.
The litigation is being supported by the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR) and the HANDS Welfare Foundation. Dr. Shaikh Tanveer Ahmed of HANDS told reporters that the 2022 floods were driven by global warming rather than being a purely natural disaster.
Lawyers involved in the case say it aims to link climate science with human rights law. While RWE and Heidelberg Materials have been identified in “carbon majors” research as significant historical emitters, neither company has accepted liability for the damages claimed in Sindh.
Miriam Saage-Maab, a German constitutional lawyer and a representative of the European Center for Constitutional and Human Rights (ECCHR), said the two firms were selected because they are among Germany’s major historical carbon dioxide emitters and are emblematic of the country’s fossil fuel-based economic model that has contributed to the climate crisis.
She said German civil law recognizes the principle of “joint and several liability,” under which it is legally permissible to hold one or more entities accountable for harm caused collectively by many contributors.
“If there are several people or several entities responsible for a harm, it is legitimate to only bring to court one or two of them, representing that the whole group of those have contributed to a harm,” Saage-Maab told Arab News.
She added that greenhouse gas emissions contribute to global warming regardless of where they are produced, intensifying extreme weather events worldwide.
“The CO2 emissions emitted in Germany, Europe or elsewhere have contributed to a warming climate, and this warming climate enabled the 2022 floods,” she said, describing this link as the core causal argument behind the lawsuit.
